Overlooking the ocean that separates their two countries, about a dozen Korean-Americans gathered Thursday to observe the 68th annual Korea Liberation Day by ringing San Pedro’s iconic Korean Friendship Bell.

The day marks Korea’s liberation — at the end of World War II — from Japanese colonial rule and included remarks by Ki-Sun Bang, South Korea’s deputy consul general of Los Angeles, and Jae-Hyun Choi, president of the National Unification Advisory Committee.

This year’s ceremonial bell ringing also served as a reminder of the landmark’s restoration project, set to resume within weeks for a final phase of work that will include polishing the 17-ton copper bell.

Donna Littlejohn has covered the Harbor Area as a reporter since 1981. Along with development, politics, coyotes, battleships and crime, she writes features that have spotlighted an array of topics, from an alligator on the loose in a city park to the modern-day cowboys who own the trails on the Palos Verdes Peninsula. She loves border collies and Aussie dogs, cats, early California Craftsman architecture and most surviving old stuff. She imagines the 1970s redevelopment sweep that leveled so much of San Pedro's historic waterfront district as very sad.

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The Korean Friendship Bell in San Pedro was rung 33 times on Thursday in celebration of Korean Liberation Day. The number 33 is considered a lucky number in Korean culture. (Steve McCrank / Staff Photographer)

Overlooking the ocean that separates their two countries, about a dozen Korean-Americans gathered Thursday to observe the 68th annual Korea Liberation Day by ringing San Pedro’s iconic Korean Friendship Bell.

The day marks Korea’s liberation — at the end of World War II — from Japanese colonial rule and included remarks by Ki-Sun Bang, South Korea’s deputy consul general of Los Angeles, and Jae-Hyun Choi, president of the National Unification Advisory Committee.

This year’s ceremonial bell ringing also served as a reminder of the landmark’s restoration project, set to resume within weeks for a final phase of work that will include polishing the 17-ton copper bell.

Presented to the United States and the city of Los Angeles on Sept. 30, 1976, to commemorate the U.S. bicentennial, the Korean Friendship Bell is now one of San Pedro’s most recognized structures, a popular backdrop for weddings and Hollywood location shoots.

Originally, though, the South Koreans wanted the bell to be in Griffith Park, said Ernest Lee of Torrance, executive director of the Korean Friendship Bell Preservation Committee.

“It would have been closer to Koreatown,” he said.

But then-Mayor Tom Bradley suggested a more symbolic location — on a pinnacle overlooking the Pacific Ocean that separates the two countries.

“It was all done with a handshake,” Lee said.

But while the bell’s location is spectacular, it has also posed significant environmental challenges when it comes to maintenance.

Modeled after the Emille Bell cast in 771 for Bongdeok Temple, the bell and its stone pavilion shelter are constantly battered by saltwater and ocean winds, requiring frequent and significant maintenance that the city of Los Angeles found hard to afford and carry out.

“It’s an ongoing process, just like anyone who owns a home knows,” said Lee, who first saw the bell as a teenager in 1982 when his family came to the U.S.

The preservation committee was set up as a nonprofit group several years ago to raise needed funds — and to provide for the expertise — to restore and keep the icon in pristine condition.

The initial phase included repairing a broken link that held the bell in suspension, requiring the bell to be set on a platform and unable to be rung for some time.

By the end of this month, 12 artisans from South Korea will arrive to begin work on resurfacing the bell — there is graffiti on the inside — a job primarily meant to look for possible air bubbles or other weaknesses in what is thought to be one of the largest bells in the world.

The wood log clapper also will be replaced with one made of California wood.

And the paint on the pavilion’s intricate design will be redone.

All told, the project — expected to be done by the end of this year — will have cost about a half-million dollars, Lee said.

“Originally, the pavilion was pure white,” Lee said, adding that keeping it that way would have made it much easier to maintain.

Donna Littlejohn has covered the Harbor Area as a reporter since 1981. Along with development, politics, coyotes, battleships and crime, she writes features that have spotlighted an array of topics, from an alligator on the loose in a city park to the modern-day cowboys who own the trails on the Palos Verdes Peninsula. She loves border collies and Aussie dogs, cats, early California Craftsman architecture and most surviving old stuff. She imagines the 1970s redevelopment sweep that leveled so much of San Pedro's historic waterfront district as very sad.

Join the Conversation

We invite you to use our commenting platform to engage in insightful conversations about issues in our community. Although we do not pre-screen comments, we reserve the right at all times to remove any information or materials that are unlawful, threatening, abusive, libelous, defamatory, obscene, vulgar, pornographic, profane, indecent or otherwise objectionable to us, and to disclose any information necessary to satisfy the law, regulation, or government request. We might permanently block any user who abuses these conditions.

If you see comments that you find offensive, please use the “Flag as Inappropriate” feature by hovering over the right side of the post, and pulling down on the arrow that appears. Or, contact our editors by emailing moderator@scng.com.